The NBA season continues tonight with several great battles on the schedule. The first month of the season is in the books as we look at a few of the most critical matchups coming up on Friday.

Bucks Hit the Road To Philadelphia

The Milwaukee Bucks and Philadelphia 76ers meet in an Eastern Conference matchup tonight at Wells Fargo Center. These two teams opened the regular season in Milwaukee, with the Bucks taking the 90-88 victory.

Milwaukee had lost two straight but rebounded at home to hand the Cleveland Cavaliers their fifth straight loss 113-98 on Tuesday night. They have a three-game lead in the Central Division standings. 

The Sixers are 7-4 after opening the season with three straight losses. They hope to improve on their 4-4 home record and have now won three straight on their home floor. Philly will be without James Harden for another month, but Joel Embiid has been a monster on offense since he’s been injured.

Embiid scored 42 in the win against the Atlanta Hawks and then scored 26 of the team’s final 27 points against the Utah Jazz on his way to a 59-point night. He also had 11 rebounds, eight assists, and seven blocks in the 105-98 victory.

The Sixers win to extend their home streak.

Nuggets Look To Regain Division Lead In Dallas 

The Denver Nuggets travel to face the Dallas Mavericks in a battle of two second-place teams in the Western Conference. The Nuggets come into tonight’s game after losing to the New York Knicks at home on Wednesday.

Nikola Jokic sat out the game due to COVID-19 protocol, which was the first win for the Knicks in Denver since 2006. The reigning MVP will also be out of tonight’s lineup. The Nuggets are 9-5 on the season and can tie for the Northwest Division lead with a win tonight.  

The Mavericks decided to rest Luka Doncic on Wednesday in the second game of a back-to-back and lost to the Houston Rockets 101-92 on their home floor. They’re now 8-6 on the season and are a half-game behind the New Orleans Pelicans and Memphis Grizzlies for first place.

Dallas is hoping to improve its shooting this season, as they’re 27th in the league in scoring and 23rd in three-point shooting at just 33.9%. However, they’re first in the NBA in scoring defense, giving up 106.3 points per game. 

Dallas wins as Doncic returns to the lineup.

Pistons Seek First Road Win Against Lakers

The Detroit Pistons and Los Angeles Lakers try to improve from their last-place positions in their division tonight at Crypto.com Arena. Detroit is 3-13 on the season and trails the Milwaukee Bucks by nine games in the Central Division standings.

They have also lost five straight and eight of their last nine games. The Pistons played against the Los Angeles Clippers here last night and blew a nine-point lead going into the fourth quarter on their way to a 96-91 defeat. 

Los Angeles is looking for two wins in a row for just the second time this season after their 116-103 home victory over the Brooklyn Nets on Sunday. LeBron James missed his second straight game with a groin injury and is questionable for tonight. The Lakers have a 3-10 record and are last in the Pacific Division standings. However, they’re just 5.5 games behind the first-place Phoenix Suns. 

The Lakers win another at home against the lowly Pistons.